The Lost Answer
by Zoran Prower
Summary: In the history of the Dark Rangers, each searches for their own lost Answer. This Dark Ranger had no idea that he would be pitted against Sonic and co, no idea he'd attack his own cousin, and no idea whath his destiny had in store. Final Chapter up
1. Prologue

Prologue

The Dark Ranger

Legend has it that the dark ranger wandered everywhere, searching for the Answer. The Answer was whatever he hunted for, the meaning of life, the very thing the ranger wanted to avenge, or take revenge, on. Sometimes the ranger himself was the Answer, but the ranger didn't realize that until much experience and wisdom had been gain.

There was always a dark ranger in every generation. The implied term dark came from the fact that they served justice for those that have possibly escaped crimes, or so some say. Others believe that one of the rangers once destroyed an entire evil city, only to find out later it was the wrong one. Either way, dark rangers weren't well liked. They were like assassins or spies, working for whoever they wished.

The particular dark ranger we shall speak of is searching for his Answer. His name was Zoran. The thing he perhaps hated more than anything else was being mistaken for a wolf. He was a normal grey fox, his grey fur symbolizing his ability to regenerate. In fact, he was the only one in his family to have grey fur. His sister's was red orange, as well as his father's. He didn't remember what his cousin looked like, he had left this world many years ago, and from what Zoran knew, there was no going back for him.

The dark ranger was going to the hut of the Oracle, where all dark rangers came, and had come. To be precise, the Oracle was a cursed being, blessed with immortality, but unable to leave her hometown. On the other hand, her hometown could not be destroyed. Once, when a huge invasion force came over, about fifty times larger than the defending army, the entire invasion was crushed, and only about ten lives were lost from the mere two hundred and fifty people defending the town.

He entered the hut, and the somber, solemn, wise woman looked up from her seat. Zoran bowed respectfully, and she spoke to him, in a mysterious tone, one you could not tell the mood from. Yet Zoran knew she was always sad, cursed forever until the epic war between good and evil concluded. "_Unfortunately for her, that will never end_." Zoran said to himself solemnly.

She turned to him slowly. "You seek the Answer?" She asked him. Her face lacked any wrinkles and there was no grey on her long red hair, and if one didn't know her age, they would have thought she was still rather young and comely woman.

Zoran smiled. "I do seek "answers", but if you know where my Answer is, then I'd be happy as well." He knew she hated it when he joked around.

She ignored his humor. "I'm afraid your journey to find the Answer is perhaps the most difficult of all. I can only tell you your first two steps, first, you must leave this world for good."

"Leave?" He asked incredulously. "Are you mad?! I wouldn't care if I left home, but this world is my home!"

"Did your cousin not leave this world, so he might not become prince? If you want to find the Answer, then you may want to find him, if he still lives."

"Probably not." Zoran replied. "Probably got himself ate from some fox eating plant, if you ask me. Or perhaps he could everything there with his strange looks. Then it would be easy to find him."

"This is no joke, Zoran. You must set out today, but know that when you do, you will never be able to return."

"And what if I say no?" He replied testily.

She looked at him sadly. "Then much more is at stake merely than seeking the Answer. I'd tell you everything, but the list is long, and the things that you will cause are terrible."

"Alright, alright, you win." Zoran replied. "Guess I better say my hellos and goodbyes. Well mostly hellos. I did just get back home."

With an annoyed look she slammed the door on Zoran. She never did like his humor much.

It is difficult to describe how Zoran left his world through the warp gate. As said before, no one has returned. Whether it was because of death, or just not wanting to, the event cannot be described. Nevertheless, Zoran was never again seen in his hometown.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

**The heart can bleed, and a lot…**

In the home of Sonic and co, you could say that there was an air of peace for the most part. Eggman wasn't doing anything. It seemed as if he was having a severe case of evil genius block. Until it was gone, Sonic would be extremely bored. And I mean extremely bored. That blue hedgehog hated doing anything that has to do with nothing.

On the other hand, his sidekick wasn't bored at all. It's hard to say you're bored of mourning over someone, and in fact, it's not boring. Let your heart bleed until you can take no more, and that is exactly what Tails was doing. If you don't know what it feels like to have something in your heart killed, think of being stabbed fifty times with a sword, then think of having both your arms sliced off by a lightsaber, plus add the addition horror of an airplane crashing right into you. It's a wonder suicide hasn't come in his head yet.

"_Why_?" He asked himself. He must have at least asked himself this question at least fifty million times. The majority of his grief had been spilled the last two months. He was taking a walk in the park, but that never helped. Sometimes Amy and Cream would bring him treats, but that never helped. Sometimes Knuckles (reluctantly, usually from pressure by Amy and Cream) came and tried to make him feel better.

Of course Sonic was always trying to cheer up his friend, and sometimes he feared that this would leave an eternal scar on him, forever making his life a lamenting walk, or worse an eternal elegy (A song of great pain and sorrow, and I mean to an extreme.) Yet oddly enough, there was some excitement on that face of his.

"Guess what, Tails!" Sonic yelled to him. "Some action has happened!" Tails didn't need to think twice on what he meant. Something bad happened and they needed a hero to save them. Of course, Sonic may just go without all of his friends, but he would almost certainly ask his sidekick. Tails couldn't just mope forever. Maybe this was a chance to make him feel better, by doing something right… for once.

"The strange thing is that it is not Eggman. Some robbers have made off with this legendary soul diamond or something. Doesn't seem to have power like the chaos emeralds, but hey, forget power. We've got some action! Want to come? Knuckles is going too!"

Tails nodded, relieved at a brake from his grief. Sonic looked pleased at his decision. Knuckles ran toward them. "So are you guys coming or what. It's about time these fists get something to hit."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Never miscalculate your enemy's power.

They flew into the city, and Tails parked the Tornado near the outskirts. It didn't take them long to hear the sirens, and to see what they were chasing. A green car came zooming by, twisting at the second corner they came by, and the police all went the wrong way, thinking they had turned the first corner. Fortunately, Sonic was paying attention, and the three raced to them.

The car the robbers were in was a normal car, surprisingly, and both Tails and Knuckles managed to get in front of it. When they saw Knuckles in front of the car, claws out, they tried to run him over, but he was far too strong for that. He stopped it with one hand, and the car braked, seeing that they would be unable to continue in the car. Tails hovered above, in case of any surprises.

"Alright, step out of the car. That's an order!" Knuckles yelled to them. The three robbers stepped out. They were wearing some gun armor, and worse, had guns at the sides. Seeing that Knuckles was unarmed, they pointed their guns at him. They were huge, and Tails noticed something odd about them. If anything, they were too big for an ordinary gun. Perhaps it launched some sort of explosive?

Sonic and Knuckles laughed. "You can't fire at the Blue Blur!" Sonic mocked them. One of the thieves had a sinister smile on his face, and it chilled Tails to the bone.

"I've heard of you, and I knew you'd get in the way." He told him. "Boys, fire!"

What surprised Tails most was that they did not fire bullets, but blasts of water. Sonic was blasted toward the wall and Knuckles too, though he managed to find the strength to dodge a few.

"Water! Water! I'm going to die from water!" Sonic cried. The thieves laughed in delight. Tails wouldn't stand by, however, and he quickly hovered down, delivering a solid punch to the back of one their heads, knocking him out cold. (But it did cause him to recoil in pain from the effort.)

This was the robber that was blasting knuckles, and he quickly charged at one of them, picked him up, and threw him against a stack of barrels. He fell, unconscious, and a jewel fell from his pocket. It must have been a diamond. Knuckles then turned to the last robber while Tails went toward the diamond and picked it up. "I'll make you a deal. You give me the gun, and I'll let you go free. You can even blast Sonic one more time if you'd like."

The thief stopped shooting Sonic, and turned to Knuckles, about to hand him his weapon. However, Sonic finally recovered, and punched him in the back of the head, then took the weapon himself and blasted Knuckles to the wall. "You'll pay for that, Sonic!"

When the police came to the scene and took the criminals, the store owner walked toward the scene. "Where's the diamond, where is it?" He asked them.

"Here it is, Mr." Tails walked toward him, the diamond in his hand. The diamond was a pure white, and it felt somewhat heavy in his hand. "Take it."

The store owner shook his hand, fearfully. "Oh, oh, oh no! That diamond has brought me misfortune from the very beginning. Robbers, muggers, assassins, they all want it. Oh, oh, I'm not keeping that horrid thing. Keep it, fox, and you can keep the trouble of the diamond."

Tails was confused from his fearful reaction. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes, take it! Take it! Just get it away from me!"

As the police and the store owner (still acting odd, muttering curses at the diamond) all left the scene, Tails took another looked at the diamond, shrugged his shoulders, and carried it to his home.

From above, someone else watched the scene, making observations. His henchman had failed him, and he would have to find someone else who would not fail him. Some one new, something that Sonic would not be able to defeat… If water wouldn't do the trick, then it would have to be great power. Yet who could possibly wield such a thing, and in what form?

**A/N Please Review the story after you read it. Thank you!**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Never fight a Prower

Zoran had spent the first day of his journey wandering aimlessly on this new world. He had no idea where he was, until the second day of his journey, when to his amazement, he saw another humanoid anthropomorphic being, and even better, a town. The being was some sort of tortoise, moving slowly toward him (But not as slow as a normal tortoise.) He looked at him suspiciously, obviously viewing him as an untrustworthy stranger. Perhaps visitors weren't common here?

"What's your business here, traveler?" He asked coldly.

"Well, I'm searching for a good place to take a rest." He replied courteously.   
"Know of any local cantina (bar)?"

The turtle glared at him. "Go straight two blocks down, and then take a left. It will have a nice big sign that says "The Daimyo." As Zoran gave him his thanks, he added coldly, "Don't cause any trouble here stranger. The locals prefer if the peace here isn't broken."

Following the turtle's instructions, he found his way to the cantina. When he came in the town, it was like no other he had ever visited. Instead of farms everywhere, there were buildings everywhere, and instead of torches, there were odd, glowing things. (Note to reader: Zoran is from a medieval fantasy world, and does not yet understand that he is in a far more advanced world, depending on the way you look at it, of course.)

Fortunately, Zoran could read (The language does not change with the world, but let us not complicate things, and simply state that he understood writing in this world.) He found The Daimyo, and entered its doors. When he entered, the room was silent. The musicians wonderful sound stopped playing, people turned to stare, and the barkeeper gave him a cold, spiteful glare. Either they have never seen a grey fox, or they all knew he was a stranger.

He took a seat, and one of the workers of the cantina came to him. "What would you like to drink, sir?" Zoran noticed that despite trying to be courteous, there was something odd about her voice.

"Water, please." He replied. When she came back with the water, he drank the entire glass down in one gulp, much to her surprise. Smiling a very fake smile, she went to refill it, and placed another down.

It was at this time that three of the customers came toward him, but Zoran ignored their hostile movements. It was not until Zoran smelled their disgusting breath that he turned around and saw the three humanoids, one an echidna, the other two hogs.

"Hey pal, you're in my seat!" The brown echidna told him menacingly.

"Really?" Zoran replied, not intimidated. "From what I see, you aren't of nobility." Everyone in the cantina turned to look, and many had gotten up from their seats. Zoran knew a fight was coming if he didn't leave. But hey! If trouble came his way, then he might as well enjoy the moment. He had a good feeling that they would greatly underestimate him, no matter how more advanced their world was.

The two hogs laughed at his comment, until the echidna silenced them. "Are you making fun of me, boy?" He replied threateningly. "No one makes fun of me."

"Well, I am a member of nobility, and if I were you, I wouldn't mess with me. Sorry if I'm being blunt, but I don't think you can handle much of a fight."

"Are you sure you want to stay by those words?" One of the hogs replied testily.

"One…"

"Why is he counting?" One of the hogs asked. "Is he counting the number of words he's going to stay by?" Obviously he was the stupidest one.

"Bring it on, punk!" The echidna said.

"Two…"

"Wait, maybe he's counting the number of us against him!" The stupid hog stated. "How many of us are there?"

"It's three against one, fox! You'd better run if you want to stay in one piece!" The other hog yelled at him.

"Three!" Zoran cried, and in exactly that many seconds, he had knocked out all three of them, the first with a fist, the second with the back end of one of his swords, and the third, who was the stupid hog, with the other hog's head. Zoran laughed at how easy it was, until he saw everyone else approaching menacingly toward them. One even had a blaster, but Zoran was not familiar with such weapons.

Before anyone else could move, Zoran called upon his magical abilities, and blew everyone against the wall, and then froze them to it. Then he walked out of the bar, satisfied with himself and the work he'd done here.

And so was another, who had watched the fight, and he followed him out, knowing he had found the one who he was looking for.

**A/N I have many more chapters finished, I'll post more as the days go by. It's not as good as I wanted it, but I guess it's decent.**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The cursed jewel

When the three heroes arrived home, they were greeted with a warm welcome (And a scolding for Sonic from Amy from leaving without telling her.) Amy and Cream had observed the entire thing on T.V, but of course, to the disappointment of news stations, Sonic did not hang around for interviews. You can never really get him to stay in one place, can you? Besides, he was quite eager to dry off from all the water the robbers blasted on him.

To the disappointment of his friends, Tails did not linger long after their welcome back, rather he went to the lab with his crystal, his grief finally catching up to him again. There were no tears left to fall from his face, but there were still many elegies for his heart to sing.

Tails had been preoccupied with an invention for a month now, but he couldn't get anything done, not since… what need not be mentioned again. Yet what tore him away from his work was the diamond. He had set it out on his desk, next to Cosmo's seed, or should I say, rose? (In fact, it was in the folly of setting the diamond there that brought the painful grief back.)

There was something odd about it. For a moment, he thought he saw a dark red color on the inside, but when he looked at it again, it was a plain white crystal. Then it came again. It hadn't done anything on their journey home, but he hadn't aid attention to it much either.

All of a sudden, he felt rather fatigued. He then remembered he hadn't got any sleep the previous night, but then, when did he ever? He took one last look at a diamond before he got into bed and turned off his light. Wasn't it the legendary soul diamond? Legendary in the danger it had brought, Soul… for the color, and diamond for the type of jewel. Then he let fatigue take him, and he fell asleep.

He found himself in a room that was not his own. It was a dimly lit chamber, and in it was a few lights, and the only other person in it was a groundhog. He looked at Tails as if he had just woken up. "Eh? What's this?" He inquired. "You aren't Charles, that foolish stubborn shopkeeper." He took a long look at Tails. "It seems there is more to you than meets the eye."

"Who are you?" Tails asked him, curiously.

"I am simply a Groundhog. If you ever find out my name, and call me by it, by my old bones you'll regret it." He sure sounded like he meant it, so Tails took that threat in mind. "I am the, well, guardian, I suppose, of this cursed soul diamond. Do you know why so many people try to posses it? There are several reasons, and I shall tell you them now. The purpose of this gem was to be a gift to a king many years ago, so he could bring back his wife from death's clutches. Of course, it required half of her soul to still be on the plane of the living, and fortunately, half of it was."

"Wait, this diamond can bring back the dead?" Tails asked excitedly. The Groundhog looked at him as if he had gone insane.

"No, not unless they are half alive! That would mean that part of their soul is stuck somewhere, whether as a ghost, a lamp, a jar, a dragon's stomach, heh, that was an interesting one." Before Tails could ask another question, the groundhog continued, and he held his tongue, for now. "However, about a century later, the diamond landed in dark hands, and they used its power for evil. I suppose you could say it is the equivalent of your modern seven chaos emeralds, if you doubled that power, I might add. Because of that evil use, the diamond forever has a dark taint on it, and I need you to destroy it forever!"

"You said you could bring people back to life if their half-alive, right?" Tails inquired of him eagerly. If Tails theory was right… but if it was wrong, he had gotten his hopes up too high.

The groundhog wasn't on the same page he was, however. "What do you mean? You haven't…. yes… I understand now. His face was solemn now. Kid, I hate to brake it to you, but unless you have a piece of their soul, you can't bring anyone back."

"That's what I'm trying to say." Tails replied excitedly. "I think the seed that I've grown contains part of... someone's soul, and I wish to bring it back."

"A flower? Then that would mean it is one of those anthropomorphic plants, eh?" He sighed, and closed his eyes for a moment. "Yes, I can feel the being's essence, but you'll have to find the other half. And that means you'll have to journey into the celestial world of souls. A beautiful place, if you have your entire soul, anyway. Those with half feel as if they are being continually sliced, which is why it was created long ago, to save those people. But it must be destroyed, it is too dangerous to make that journey, not with the dark taint on the crystal."

Tails was angry now. "If it brings good, why destroy it? I have to see her once more, I have to!"

The Groundhog sighed. "Foolish lovesick fox! Do you not realize the world is at stake if the wrong hands get their hands on it? If you accidentally draw on its power, your soul will be tainted by evil, and that is hard to remove. And even if you use it correctly, do you no think that you shall not be followed, that someone will not try to thwart you. Do you not think of a possible failure?!"

"Then let me die on the journey, tell me how so I can be with her again!" Tails said fiercely. If he was denied this, then there would be no flame for him to continue his previous good life anyway.

"The way love drives people's hearts, I'm surprised we all don't go mad from listening to how their heart beats." The groundhog sighed again. "Find the Violet forest. It is there that you'll find the three enchanted stones that surround a pedestal. Place the diamond on the pedestal, and a warp gate will open to the celestial world. You can only enter alone along with the item that the soul is in, but realize that if the diamond is moved from its spot, the gate closes, and you are stuck there until it opens, if ever…" The groundhog was silent for a while. "But immediately after you find your dear whoever, you must destroy the diamond."

"But the only thing that can do that is… of course, that makes sense!"

The groundhog smiled. "You're quite the genius; it does not take a good eye to see that. Yes, only another diamond can. Fortunately, there is a mine about 75 miles away from the pedestal, near the mountains to the north of the forest. Be wary, the diamond's guardians are quite greedy, I'm afraid, and talking will do no good here."

"But where is the Violet Forest?" Tails asked.

"I do not know." The Groundhog replied. "Find it, do what you need to do, and then destroy it! Do not let it fall in evil hands, do not let anyone, yourself included, draw on its power, and most of all, I wish you luck, because from your strength, you'll need all the luck and friends you can find."

Then Tails awoke, just in time to see the sun rising in the horizon, and the beginning of a new chapter in his life.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The Deal

It didn't take long for Zoran to know he was being followed. He turned around, and saw a mysterious figure enshrouded in a black cloak. His face was obscured, and he spoke to him and a mysterious voice.

"You are no Mobian, are you?" He asked him. Zoran had no idea what he was talking about.

"I have no idea what a Mobian is, so I guess I'm not." The man nodded. Zoran tried to see if he could make out a face, but he just couldn't. His face may have been obscured from a mask.

"I am the last of my race, a race that was…wrongly destroyed, and like you, am a foreigner to this world. I desire an artifact of immense power, and in return, perhaps I may help you. You didn't come here as a tourist, from what I see."

Zoran nodded. "My name is Zoran Prower, and I advise you to never do business with a Prower." He told him half jokingly. "Not if you plan to betray me, that is." The man's face reacted to his name in an odd manner, and despite the mask he seemed to be wearing, he did not hide his reaction from it. "I am on a search for… something… and in order to find it, I am in search of my cousin."

The mysterious man smiled, the only thing that he had been able to see from the man's face. "Ah, you aren't the only Power I've come across. Indeed, while doing my task you may just come across him, indeed very likely."

Zoran nodded. He was excited, but he masked it well. He wasn't about to be tricked, never again, but he wasn't going to bring more dishonor to the Prower line than was already there. There was a bloody and sad history in that name…

"It appears that a special diamond was stolen from me, and after ages of passing from one hand to another, it has finally landed into Sonic's possession. He's a powerful hedgehog, but with your… abilities… you may be able to defeat him. Normally I wouldn't care about it that much, but there is power in such an item, power I require for my work."

"And what would that work be, sir?" Zoran asked.

"My work brings change. I'm afraid I must be discreet here, though I wish I could tell you more. If you bring this diamond to me, then I shall aid you in your search with whatever you need, money, equipment, transportation, maps, with whatever information you can convince your cousin to tell you. And if he isn't your cousin, then perhaps I can help you find the answer, or help find your real cousin. But I need the diamond! Do whatever it takes to get it, and remember, you will be rewarded well."

Zoran smiled, satisfied. "Thanks, but I must ask how you know about my cousin." There was no doubt it was his cousin, it was after all, his grandfather that had invented the last name.

The man's face looked even more mysterious before, as if he was trying to hide a secret deep within the ground. "We've meet a few times." He didn't say anything else. Zoran thought it wise not to press him. "But be off! The sooner you get it, the sooner I can aid you with your search!

As Zoran ran off, the man smiled to himself. What Zoran didn't know wouldn't hurt him… until he knew, of course.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Toward Fresh Pastures

Tails retold the events in his dream to Sonic that morning. At first Sonic didn't believe him. "It's just a dream Tails." But when he showed him the diamond, and its red taint that continuously appearing and disappearing in his eyes, did he finally believe Tails. "But where in the world is the Violet Forest? I've never heard of such a place!"

Tails shrugged his shoulders. "It didn't tell me anything else." He told him.

Sonic nodded. "Well, we'll set out first thing tomorrow morning, and I'll get the others to come, too."

Tails was relieved, but also impatient to set off. That day he practically did nothing, not being able to continue work on any of his inventions. He tried to fall asleep early, but it was not until late in the evening that sleep finally did take him.

He dreamed that he was in a forest, and the first thing he saw was a large tree with purple leaves. Surrounding it were all sorts of tall oak trees, but it was this tree that gave Tails the clue that this was the Violet Forest. "_Through the waterfall by the mountains, this forest is. Long has it been hidden, and not traveled for some time. I can help you no more, fox. Awaken now; there is nothing more I can help you with. Remember; destroy the diamond with another diamond! Do not forget, young fox_!

He woke excitedly. When he looked at his clock, it was four A.M. He went into his lab and pulled out his compass. It was made of a special material, so as that ion could not mess up the compass. He also pulled out one of his beamswords. The X tornado would not be able to go through the waterfall, and he'd need to be prepared for danger. As he left the room, he gathered the seed and the diamond, looking at each in turn, with completely different emotions to each one.

After running an inspection check on the plane for the 15th time, Knuckles was the first to arrive on the scene. "This journey better not be some joke!" Knuckles warned him, but from Tails serious look, it was obvious that he was determined to see this through. "Sonic's traveling on foot, but he said that we don't have much of an idea on where we are going."

Tails shook his head. "I do now. We're going north… to the mountains first."

"Whatever. Hopefully some action comes our way."

Next came Amy and Cream, and they both stared at the diamond Tails had in his hand. "Is that the jewel?" Amy asked him.

Tails nodded. "It looks… odd." She added. She had observed well. It felt even odder holding it. The groundhog was right, there was evil in the diamond. He hadn't told sonic about its other powers, he doubt he'd draw power from them anyway, but why keep it a secret?

"Well, we're here, so let's get going already, before I get hungry! By the way, did you bring anything to eat? I'm not going to get hungry like we did last time, eating the junk we did…"

As they departed, a figure watched them take off, but it was not them that she found interest in, but rather the jewel, and its beauty. "That jewel will be mine!"

**A/N That's Rouge by the way, right before she finds out the malevolent power of it, and not just its value…**


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Encounters

Sonic was racing at a high speed below the ground, while Tails skillfully flew the X-tornado above the trees. "Are we there yet?" Knuckles asked for the fifth time. "And can't we get some better grub around here? Not as bad as last time, but it still sucks!"

"Oh, be quiet Knuckles." Amy yelled at him, annoyed.

"Oh, look at high those mountains are!" Cream cried pointing to their high snow capped tops.

Indeed the scene was wonderful, and the forest began to wane as they came closer and closer to it. "If we're supposed to find a forest, why are we seeing less and less trees?" Knuckles asked.

"The Violet Forest is behind some waterfall." Tails informed him. "From what I know, we just have to go through it. I can't see anything from up here, it's far to cloudy, even this far above the forest, so we'll have to land, and hopefully we can find it then." Tails gave a signal to Sonic, and then he halted his movement as Tails skillfully and carefully landed between the edge of the forest and the foothills of the mountains. Knuckles gathered the diamond, and put it in his pocket, and Tails had the seed in his pocket as well.

When they landed Sonic greeted them. "It's pretty cold down here, Tails." He stated. "Where to next?"

Tails looked around the area, smelling the area. In a few seconds, he could smell the scent of water. "This way!" He commanded them, and the gang followed them, up to the waterfall.

"What?!" Sonic said. "We don't have to go through there, do we?"

"It's the only way to the Violet Forest." Tails told him.

"Couldn't we just fly over them?" He inquired. But Cream had already begun traveling through, and Sonic watched her disappear through the mist.

"The mountains are far too high to do that, and the dream specifically said to go this—" He paused. His nose was picking up something, and Sonic too, seemed to feel some danger was near.

"What's going on Sonic?" Knuckles asked. But when he heard a sword being drawn from its sheath, he turned around and saw a grey fox, with a sword in either hand. He pointed them at Knuckles.

"Give me the diamond, and I'll let the three of you live." He said hostilely.

Knuckles gave him a look of indifference. "You're just a mere bandit, aren't you?" He mocked him.

"What?" Zoran laughed. "A mere bandit, you call me. You should know that you should never insult a Prower."

"Hey, I insult Tails all the… what did you say?"

Zoran sighed. Tails looked at him incredulously, and Sonic gave Zoran an incredulous look. "I am the Dark Ranger Zoran Prower, seeking the Answer, and then protecting it to the end of my days. I was told to find it, I was told to seek Miles. I also require the diamond for personal reasons."

Tails shook his head. "I don't know anything about the Answer you speak of, I don't even know what you're talking about, you can't have the diamond, I won't give it to you!"

Zoran sighed. "I knew it would come to this." Tails had his beamsword in hand, but he gave it to Sonic, knowing he was the stronger one.

"I have to warn you now Zoran, you picked the wrong person to fight." Sonic told him. Then he rushed at him at Sonic speed, but only to be blown away just as fast. Already he had underestimated both his power and resolve.

"Run into the waterfall!" He told him. Perhaps inside the cavern they would have a better fighting chance?

Ignoring his fear of water (But closing his eyes as he did so) He, Tails and Knuckles rushed through the waterfall. Amy and Cream were already inside the cavern, waiting for them patiently.

"What's going on?" Cream asked.

"Long story short, we need to get out of here!" Tails cried.

"Or you could just give me the jewel, and have nothing to worry about." Zoran said, reappearing right in front of them. Running was foolish. Did they really think they could outrun him?

"Why do you want it so much?" Amy asked him.

Zoran didn't listen to her. "Something feels odd..." he stated. "Something I've never felt before… could it be? But what, or who?"

Obviously no one understood what Zoran was talking about. Knuckles had his fists up. He gave the diamond to Tails. "Run Tails, I'll hold him off!"

He charged at Zoran, who in turned blew him up to the ceiling of the cave, and it started to cave in. "Run!"

Sonic, Amy, Cream, and Tails managed to escape from the cave. Knuckles was still in there. When Knuckles looked up, he saw a huge boulder about to crush him. That is, until someone came swooping by, saving him from its force.

He found himself in a different area of the cavern. There were diamonds everywhere. "This… is a thief's heaven!" His rescuer cried. When he looked up, it was no one else but Rogue. She smiled at him. "What, who else would have followed you here."

"You're trying to steal it, too!" Knuckles accused her.

Rogue shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I was, until I researched it, and found out how dangerous it was."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"That diamond… contains enough destructive power to end millions of lives."

Knuckles paused. "Did Tails… lie?"

Rouge shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe he was lied to. I don't know. But we need to take one of the diamonds in here, and destroy it."

As they took a diamond (Rogue took several, for thieving reasons of course.) they were still oblivious to the benevolent power of the diamond, and oblivious to the tragic event they would cause…

**A/N: Soon you will understand what horror shall come forth… and the ends that come with it… 3 chapters left!**


	9. Chapter 8

The Violet Forest

The party continued solemnly toward the forest. "Do you think Knuckles is still alive?" Cream asked Sonic.

Sonic nodded confidently. "Of course he is. Zoran's no match for him, and neither is a meager cave in." And he sounded so certain that Cream believed him, and the party's solemn mood was lifted; though Sonic wasn't so sure if it was true himself. He turned to Tails. "Where to next?"

It was easy to see why they called it the Violet Forest. The maple tree's leaves looked as if they purple, and the sunset of the sky enhanced it even more. "Over there… at that pedestal!"

He ran over to it excitedly, and the gang followed him. There were three rocks surrounding a pedestal. Sonic had no idea what they were supposed to do with the diamond, but in Tails excitement, he seemed to have been given an extra stroke of genius. He placed the diamond on the pedestal, and right in front of their eyes a warp gate appeared, appearing to lead to the sky…

"I'm going in!" Tails cried. He turned to Sonic. "Keep the warp gate open, and do not let anyone move the diamond from its place until I come back."

Sonic gave him a smile, and then he disappeared through the gate. "I suppose this would be a very bad time to take the Soul Diamond." A voice said behind them. Sonic, Amy, and Cream turned around. Zoran smiled, and both Sonic and Amy acted hostilely.

"You can't have the Diamond." Sonic told him menacingly. Zoran shook his head solemnly.

"I do not want the diamond; instead, I merely want to speak to your rabbit friend." When Zoran looked at their faces, he saw they weren't trusting him still, but would let him speak. "Do you remember when I said I was seeking the Answer?"

"Yes, but I don't know anything about it. None of us do." Cream informed him. "I'm sorry I couldn't have been more helpful."

Zoran laughed. "Of course you don't know. That's why I hate this business of the Answer. They tell you someone knows, and they don't. You have to follow your instinct, and I did. And now, I've found you, the Answer. It was lost to me for a while, I saw no w ay of finding it at first, but to my biggest surprise personally, you are the Answer. Of all people. And now I have no idea what this means."

Cream seemed to understand what he was saying a bit, but to Sonic's ears, he thought he was mad.

Zoran's ears quivered, and a strange expression came to his face. "My employer is here. I suppose he came here to do his work without me now."

The dark cloak man indeed was behind him. Sonic turned to him. "He has decided not to do your dirty work." He told him. The man laughed sinisterly.

"But he has succeeded. He has brought me to it, and I, the last of the Metarex, shall use its power and wipe this pathetic planet from the face of the galaxy!"

**A/N The suspense! Don't worry, the next chapter shall be up soon! Only 2 chapters left!**


	10. Chapter 9

Heavenly joy, Infernal fear

The mad Metarex man ran to the diamond, his hunger for power written all over his face. Zoran laughed at him, but no one else seemed to find the entire thing amusing. But before he could get there, Sonic made it first, but to the metarex's surprise, Sonic was absorbing the power of the crystal, and then in front of everyone's eyes, he had become Super Sonic.

"What?" The evil thing cried. "Impossible! How could this happen to me?"

"Taste your own fear, and I shall watch your last moment with great pleasure!" Sonic said. Then, with a huge ball of fiery energy, he utterly destroyed the Metarex with a single blow.

Everyone else looked upon the scene with silence and fear. Never before had Sonic had so much power, never before had he had that dark look in his eye, and never before had he seem so… sinister.

It was worse when he turned to his friends with the same eye. "You're next!" He cried.

(Back to Tails)

The first thing Tails noticed when he arrived was that he was in a very cold room, with a fountain, and the warpgate behind him. There was also a man (or was it a soul?) sitting on a golden throne. The fountain's water was gold. Everything here was either white, silver, or gold, depicting the heavenly aspect of the place. Several Souls came to greet him, of several species he could recognize, some others he had never seen in his life.

"Welcome to my heavenly world." The soul (or was it a man?) sitting on the golden throne said. "I am the king of these souls, immortal in forever watching and making their eternal stay forever happy." He took a long look at Tails. "You don't look dead to me."

"I've come to resurrect someone." Tails told him. The soul king nodded in understanding.

"I see." He looked at the seed in Tails' hands. "It has been a long time since I've seen a living soul here. They reminded me of you."

"Really?" Tails asked, surprised.

"Yes, the same look on their eyes, the same scars on their heart, the same pieces missing or shattered from it." He stood up and went toward to Tails. "I am personally glad that I play a part in the mending of those pieces."

Joy spilled into Tails face, and his hope soared higher than ever, and tears flowed down his cheeks in his joy. "Give me the half of the soul of that was stored here."

Tails gladly gave it to him, but to his shock, when it touched his hand, it disappeared from his view. "What happened?" He asked fearfully.

The king smiled. "Look closely, young fox." He directed him. "Do you not see silver traces in the air. It is her soul, waving to you silently, unable to speak yet. I warn you now, when it leaves this place it shall be mortal once more, and you may never return to bring it back again."

"There won't be any need to." Tails replied confidently. He could see her now, and her figure, purely silver, portraying innocence. (Is silver not the color of innocence?)

"Now, leave, and enjoy your happiness, protect her, and cherish the life you have brought back."

Tails and the soul (of Cosmo) walked to the portal. Tails smiled happily at it (well, her now.) "Ladies first." He bowed, and Cosmo giggled at him. (Though silently, I might add.)

Little did he know that he had just doomed himself by those very words…

(Back to where we were before…)

Sonic was attacking them furiously, not hesitating despite Amy's pleas, Cream's crying, and Zoran's relentless attacks. "He's too powerful!" Zoran cried. "The diamond's tainted him. It must be destroyed!"

(Elsewhere…)

Knuckles and Rouge looked at the scene. "If only Shadow were here…" Rouge said.

"He's not here; we'll have to do it without him." Knuckles turned to Rouge. "Distract him, and I'll destroy the diamond." He had another diamond in his hand.

"What if it doesn't work?" Rouge asked him.

"Then we are all doomed…"

(Back to Amy, Cream, and Zoran.)

"Sonic, stop!" Amy cried. "You're going to destroy us!"

"Must…. Consume… The living." Sonic said.

Zoran laughed. "You've really lost it, haven't you?"

Sonic pointed at him. "You…. Will…. Die!"

He created a huge fiery dagger shaped attack at him, and Zoran barely evaded it. Cream did not see him move in front of her, and in that very moment, the fiery dagger pierced her deeply in the upper right side of her chest. Zoran caught her before she hit the ground, but she was already dead.

**A/N: No! No! No!!!!!!! One more chapter left, let's see what happens…. Poor, poor Cream….**


	11. Chapter 10

The Costs of Victory…

Sonic stared down at his hands, and for a moment, his conscience had returned to him. "What… why… did I do this?" He asked himself.

Amy then noticed Knuckles and Rogue rapidly approaching. "Quickly, Knuckles, destroy it!"

Knuckles did not hesitate for a single step, but it was on his last step that Amy remembered something. "Knuckles, no!"

But it was too late, and Knuckles did not hear a word she said, too observed in executing his action. In one powerful stroke, he slammed the diamond down on the Soul diamond, shattering it, and breaking its hold on Sonic. Yet it wasn't until he saw the warp gate disappear did he fully realize the cost of his actions.

Yet to the surprise of them all, someone was through the warp gate. She was sitting on the ground, staring into space, lost in its night sky, and very, very confused.

"Look, it's Cosmo!" Amy cried excitedly, and she went to hug her. Cosmo hugged her back, almost as if she had forgotten how to hug someone. Then she looked around, and she became worried. "But where's Tails?" She asked. Cosmo looked around, and the fear lit up in her eyes.

"I don't know, he was right behind me." She said.

Knuckles looked down to the ground. "It's all my fault." He stated. "I shouldn't have destroyed it. Now Tails is stuck there! We've failed him, we've failed Cream—."

"No, it's my fault." Sonic said. "I failed my best friend; I killed Cream, I… I did this… this is my fault." He turned his head away so they would not see his tears, and Sonic quickly wiped them away. Amy went over to him and squeezed him hard, as if that would help. But it didn't keep the bad thoughts out. "_I killed Cream… I failed Tails… I failed to help the world…_" He kept telling himself.

Cosmo started crying, and Zoran looked at Cream's body. Zoran looked around at the suffering. "I've failed to protect the Answer. I've now lost the Answer, but I won't allow that to be much longer!"

Zoran placed his hand on her heart, and as he struggled to control and execute the magic, the wound began to heal, but what the magic was really doing was capturing her soul before it drifted away, and place it back in its body. As his sight started to leave him, he stated to her. "This is not your grave."

Zoran never saw whether he succeeded or not. He fell to the ground of fatigue, and collapsed, his eyes closing, and darkness overcame him.

A**/N: The last chapter. Sigh…. I hate cliffhangers. Does this mean there will be a sequel? Is Zoran dead? Did the spell work on Cream? Poor Tails, is his fate reversible? All shall be revealed… in the second Volume of the trilogy!**


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